The leaders of France, Germany, France, and Ukraine have extended the expiration date of the Minsk agreements. This means that hundreds of prisoners illegally held in the basements of Donbas will continue being tortured and abused by the militias of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk "people's republics." The clause of the Minsk agreements to release hostages must be implemented immediately; otherwise, they may not last to see the day.
According to official reports, 130 people remain imprisoned in the occupied territories of Donbas. Among them are both soldiers and ordinary civilians. According to information from volunteers working on behalf of those detained and disappeared, the number of hostages may be exponentially larger. All these people should have been freed in accordance with the second Minsk agreements, signed on 12 February 2015, not later than the fifth day following the withdrawal of arms, which was supposed to take place ten months ago. They should have celebrated New Year and Christmas holidays at home.86% of imprisoned soldiers and half of the civilians experienced torture and harsh abuse in occupied Donbas.
Read more: War crimes in occupied Donbas: every second prisoner tortured, 16% witnessed executionsDuring the complex negotiations, France and Germany, participants in the Norman format, should have been the first of Ukraine’s allies to demand immediate prisoner release from Russia and the “republics” it created. In addition, all democratic nations who declare a commitment to human rights should be raising this issue whenever the Russian-Ukrainian war, which is still referred to as the “Ukrainian crisis” throughout the world, is discussed. [As reported, the participants of the "Norman four" group extended the date of the expiration of the Minsk agreements - ed.] The demand from the international community to “release all hostages” should be categorical, under threat of withdrawal from the Minsk agreements.
“I remember that the walls and ceiling of the room were covered with dried blood. Four people beat me at a time. All over my body. Particularly kicks to the chest… I regained consciousness in another room. This was a former industrial refrigerator. The ceiling was tile. I was lying on the bare floor. A paramedic arrived. He cut the rubber ties which bound my hands. From time to time the refrigerator opened. Some people would come in, I don’t know who, and prodded me with their feet to check if I was alive. They did not feed me, they did not give me water, they did not take me to the washroom. The refrigerator was airtight. There was enough air for a few hours. There was no light whatsoever. I lay this way for 3 days.”Not only men receive such inhuman treatment. Accounts from those freed show that gender, age and health often have no bearing:
“I asked them not to beat me, telling them I was pregnant. They said 'good thing, the Ukrop child dies.' They beat us with everything at hand - rifle butts, kicks, the body armor that they found on us. They beat every part of our bodies. They put out their cigarette butts on me. When I watched and cried as they beat others, they duct taped my eyes shut. At that time I was in my third month of pregnancy, and as a result of the beatings I started bleeding”.All the hostages have names, 130 are officially known. But whether they have a future depends on political decisions and active role of the democratic world. Yes, these are Ukrainians, not Germans or French. But we are all born free and equal! Help them return alive. We await them at home.
[hr]Here are three easy steps to #FreeDonbasHostages:
✔ sign the petition: bit.ly/free_petition ✔ join the twitter storm on 12.02.2016: http://wp.me/p4CYSc-n8u - Just come in & click ✔ invite your friends to the event bit.ly/freedonbashostages
[hr] This article is based on a report by the Coalition of public organizations and initiatives “Justice for Peace in Donbas” titled "Surviving Hell: Testimonies of Victims on Places of Illegal Detention in Donbas" - find the full English-language text here.
Oleksandra Matviychuk is a human rights activist, coordinator of the Euromaidan-SOS initiative and chair of the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine.
